Monday, August 28, 2017

Series Versus Standalone

Some stories are stand alones. They don't need or merit another book. It's exactly that simple. If I run across a tale that i want to tell where nothing more need be added, I sell it as a stand alone.

BUT, if I think there are more stories to be told about a certain character or place, I'm perfectly glad to revisit.

In fact that's happening right now. I'm working on a sequel to a book I wrote YEARS ago called SERENITY FALLS. When i first wrote the mammoth it took me a full year. trust me, for me that's a very long time. Why? because it was complex, because it had 183 named characters and because I was telling the entire history of the town, spanning several hundred years.

It was all it needed to be.

And then I had an idea for a sequel.

I'll have the first draft finished soon.

SERENITY FALLS, by the way, was so large that when it came out as a mass market edition it required that I rewrite a portion so that it could be made into a series. That's right. My book came out as a trilogy.

The thing is, as I have said many times, I don't like to limit myself. I've got 75,000 words of s weird western written, I put it on hold when my wife passed away. I'm looking at it now and thinking it's time to finish it up. I mean, come on, we're talking the majority of the novel written.

And while waiting on that novel? I've written four sequels, all of them novellas or short stories. Haven't finished the main story, mind you, but there are ideas and more ideas.

Currently I am finishing up a series of three novels for THE TIDES OF WAR. Before that I was working on the SEVEN FORGES series, which is four books deep and will have three additional books soon if I have any say in the matter.

That last couple? I actually planned them as series.

For me the story should be exactly the length it needs to be and if there are spin offs, I'm okay with that.

Oh, and one more example: Jnathan Crowlery is recurring character of mine. Here's a list of stories and novels he;s shown up in:
UNDER THE OVERTREE, SERENITY FALLS (WRIT IN BLOOD, THE PACK and DARK CARNIVAL), "War Stories," "That Old Black Magic," "Home For The Holidays," "Little Boy Blue," "Vendetta," CHERRY HILL, BOOM TOWN, ""Black Train Blues," 'The Devoted," "White Blank Page, (Songs in the key of white)," "What Rough Beast," "Black Tides,"and BACK TO SERENITY. There are probably a few more.

I write fiction, a little of everything and a lot of horror. I've written novels, comic books, roleplaying game supplements, short stories, novellas and oodles of essays on whatever strikes my fancy. That might change depending on my mood and the publishing industry. Things are getting stranger and stranger in the wonderful world of publishing and that means I get to have fun sorting through the chaos (with all the other writer-types). I have a website. This isn't it. This is where you can likely expect me to talk about upcoming projects and occasionally expect a rant or two. Not too many rants. Those take a lot of energy. In addition to writing I work as a barista, because I still haven't decided to quit my day job. Opinions are always welcome.